Emotional Modulation of Time Perception

Our perception of time is not veridical but rather is consistently modulating by changing
dynamics in our environment. Anecdotal experiences suggest that emotions can be powerful
modulators of time perception; nevertheless, the mechanisms underlying emotion-induced
temporal distortions remain unclear. Widely accepted pacemaker-accumulator models
of time perception suggest that changes in arousal and attention have unique influences
on temporal judgments and contribute to emotional distortions of time perception.
However, such models conflict with current views of arousal and attention and their
interaction from the perspective of affective and cognitive science. The aim of this
dissertation was to more clearly examine the role of arousal and attention in driving
emotion-induced temporal distortions by explicitly manipulating and measuring these
constructs using well-established timing procedures within the context of affective
manipulations induced via classical conditioning and drug administration. Measures
of physiological arousal and subjective measures of top-down attention to emotional
stimuli were assessed both within and across subjects. The findings reported here
suggest that current models of time perception do not adequately explain the variability
in emotion-induced temporal distortions. Instead these findings provide support for
a new theoretical model of emotion-induced temporal distortions proposed in the current
manuscript that emphasizes both the unique and interactive influences of arousal and
attention on time perception, dependent on temporal dynamics, event relationships,
and individual differences. Collectively, these findings may point to plausible neurobiological
mechanisms of emotion-induced temporal distortions and have important implications
for our understanding of how emotions may modulate our perceptual experiences in service
of adaptively responding to biologically relevant stimuli.